Sports

Jeff Blay/R-G
Ottawa Senators draft pick and newly named captain of the Western Hockey League's Spokane Chiefs, Darren Kramer, spends the majority of his summer in his hometown of Peace River, where he regularly works out at Fitness-On-The-Go.

After spending the latter part of his summer at training camp with the Ottawa Senators, Peace River native Darren Kramer was sent back to his major junior team - only to arrive to good news.

While it's only his second year playing with the Western Hockey League's Spokane Chiefs, the club's management was so impressed with his development and leadership skills that immediately upon his arrival, they named him the team's captain.

"It's definitely been a roller coaster, that's for sure," Kramer told the Record-Gazette in a recent interview.

"To be named captain among the other names that have previously captained this organization is a great honour, and it's just nice to be taking on a bigger role than I had last year."

When he arrived back in Spokane after the Senators main camp, where he spent his final days nursing a minor shoulder injury, Kramer had several discussions with the coaching staff before the announcement was officially made.

"I had a few good meetings with my head coach, Don Nauchbaur, and he told me he was going to name me captain," Kramer explained.

"It kind of stayed a secret between us, then we announced it within the team and named our assistant captains.

"On opening night, I warmed up without the "C" on my jersey, then my assistant coach Jon Klemm, who actually wore the "C" for the Chiefs in 1991, presented me with the captain's jersey, so it was a pretty surreal experience."

Kramer will be taking over the captaincy from fellow Senators draftee, Jared Cowan, who had led Spokane to a Memorial Cup Championship in 2008, and recently won a Calder Cup Championship with Ottawa's American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators.

"I've learned a lot from my former and hopefully future teammate Jared Cowan, last season and during the few weeks I spent in Ottawa this summer; he's taught me so much," Kramer acknowledged.

"Also, meeting some of the other captains at (Ottawa's) training camp this year was a good experience. I saw how they carried themselves and learned a lot from them to."

While in Ottawa, Kramer not only learned how to be a captain, but how much work it takes to play in the most competitive hockey league in the world.

"It was a great experience in Ottawa, but I've told a few people already that I couldn't decide if it was a learning experience or a wake up call," he joked.

"You learn very quickly what it takes to play in the NHL, and it's not easy, but it's what I love to do and what I've worked for my entire life."

For Kramer, that work began right here in Peace River, where he played the majority of his minor hockey career. His next step came when he joined the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, where he was also a captain for a brief period before he began his major junior career in Spokane.

In 68 games with the Chiefs last season, Kramer led the team and league with over 40 fighting majors and 306 penalty minutes, while also adding seven goals and 14 points.

In four games so far this year, Kramer has notched four goals and three assists along with 12 penalty minutes, nearly catching up to his previous point totals for the entire season.

"I'm off to a bit of a hot start I guess you could say. Obviously I still have to play a physical role, but I'm also playing a lot more minutes now, in key situations on the penalty kill and power play, so it's nice to be playing special teams where I can contribute more," Kramer said.

"The message was pretty clear when I was in camp in Ottawa that 47 fights was unacceptable. It's what got me noticed and it was what I was willing to do to get to the next step, but now it's time to develop my game."

Along with the goals Kramer has set for himself this year, the newly named captain has similar expectations for his team.

"We're a young group, we're a group that has some room to build obviously, but I have high expectations for us and so does the coaching staff," he said.

"We're a hard-working team, we never let up one bit and although it's kind of a learning process right now, no team in the league should underestimate us."

Currently, the Chiefs sit in third place in the Western Conference's U.S. Division behind the Tri-City Americans and the Portland Winterhawks, with a record of 2-2-0-1.

In addition to the news of Kramer being named captain in Spokane, TSN recently filmed a feature on the Peace River native, interviewing members of the Senators and Chiefs organizations, while also making the trek up to Peace River to interview his family and former hockey coach.

The Record-Gazette had a chance to sit in on some of the filming, and learned Kramer's parents were nervous about the interviews, although Kramer himself was confident in their on-camera abilities.

"I don't think there is too much either my mom or dad can say that would embarrass me too much, so I'm sure they did a great job," Kramer laughed.

"They know the boundaries and they know what they can say, and I'm sure they're pretty proud of me right now because I know when they put me in hockey they didn't expect it to pan out this way," he added.

"It's pretty neat they had the chance to get on TV; I think that's a first for them, so we'll see how it all worked out and I'm excited to see what they had to say as well."